Positives in defeat for Ranieri

Leicester’s 4-2 International Champions Cup defeat to Barcelona highlighted the step up they must make in the Champions League this season, but there were encouraging signs for the English champions.

The Foxes were 3-0 down at the break and with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Munir El Haddadi combining superbly, there was a real sense Leicester could be on course for a defeat heavier than their 4-0 loss last time out to Paris St Germain.

However, an energetic second-half performance – belying the fact Leicester had just flown in to Sweden from California – and smart brace from new signing Ahmed Musa restored pride before Barcelona wrapped up the win through Rafa Mujica.

On paper it was another International Champions Cup defeat for Leicester but Ranieri had insisted before the game the result was a distant secondary concern to his primary aim of preparing his team physically for their Premier League title defence and there were positives for the Italian to take away from Stockholm…

Musa makes his mark  

Second-half sub Musa needed barely two minutes make an impact on the game, showing off his blistering pace with a superb breakaway goal to pull one back for the Foxes. He added a second 20 minutes later with a thunderous finish from close range.

There could have been a penalty, too, had the referee not waved away Leicester appeals when Javier Mascherano hauled Musa down. The Nigerian couldn’t have dreamed of making a better impression against arguably the world’s best club.

“He came on and he stretched the Barcelona defence, his pace was unbelievable,” Valencia assistant manager Phil Neville told Sky Sports. “Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu couldn’t cope with him. He normally …

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